Last summer, the Miami Heat signed forward Shane Battier looking to bolster an already tough defense and hit a key 3-point shot or two in a game. Battier took a while to get warmed up, but as the playoffs have worn on; his game has started to hit a level not even he probably could have expected.

The Miami Heat stand just two victories away from placing another NBA Championship banner in the rafters of the AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat know the final two wins will be the hardest of the season, but also know that style points don’t matter at this point.

The Miami Heat needed everything they could get out of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Game 3 of the NBA Finals Sunday night. They got that and more as Wade and James combined for 54 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists and the team held off a late rally from the Thunder and took at 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals

The Miami Heat head back home Friday after a gritty performance in Game 2 saw the team even the series at one game apiece. It was another solid game from NBA MVP LeBron James and another great game from the unlikeliest of heroes, Shane Battier.

The Miami Heat looked great for three quarters of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The fourth quarter swung the game for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Heat now have to figure out how to slow down the Thunder heading into Game 2.

The Miami Heat will be pilgrims in an unholy land when they enter the arena in Oklahoma City Tuesday night and will also find themselves in the unusual position of being the underdogs in the NBA Finals.

After a labor related splintered season, the NBA Finals is quite the perfect storm. In a battle of epic meteorological proportions, the Thunder takes on the Heat. But more importantly, this is the matchup that seems to be the one most of the basketball universe wants to see.

The celebration for the Heat’s win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals sent fans into the streets at the American Airlines Arena but even as fans celebrate the 101-88 victory over the Celtics the Heat turn their attention to an even bigger nemesis in the NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder.